Jon Corzine

Jon Corzine was sworn in as New Jersey's 54th governor, promising ethics reform and an end to "fiscal gimmicks" that have papered over the state's financial problems. The former Goldman Sachs executive and Democratic U.S. senator took the oath of office in Trenton. His swearing-in ended a tumultuous period that began in 2004 when Gov. James E. McGreevey resigned after acknowledging a gay affair. State Senate President Richard J. Codey had been acting governor since then.

Surgery on Gov. Jon Corzine's injured leg was successful, and state police said the driver blamed for the wreck that critically injured the governor told them he didn't stop because he hadn't realized he was involved. The 20-year-old driver, whom police found at an Atlantic City casino where he works, won't be charged with leaving the scene of Thursday's accident, State Police Capt. Albert Della Fave said. Corzine's recovery was progressing better than doctors expected, said Dr. Steven E.

Gov. Jon S. Corzine was seriously injured when his vehicle was in an accident on the Garden State Parkway, authorities said. Corzine was listed in critical but stable condition at Cooper University Hospital in Camden, officials said. His injuries were not considered life-threatening. Dr. Steven Ross said that Corzine was expected to be in surgery until early today. Corzine had a broken sternum, a broken collarbone, fractured vertebrae, a broken leg and six broken ribs on each side, Ross said.

Gov. Jon S. Corzine has voluntarily paid a $46 fine for violating state law by not having a seat belt on during a car crash that left him seriously injured, his spokesman said. Corzine met with State Police Supt. Col. Rick Fuentes, Atty. Gen. Stuart Rabner and two state police investigators at the governor's mansion in Princeton to discuss the accident, spokesman Anthony Coley said. As the meeting ended, Corzine asked Fuentes for a ticket, Coley said.

Legislators opposed to Gov. Jon Corzine's proposal to raise the state sales tax rejected a compromise sought by the governor Tuesday and began devising their own budget plan, which might involve an income tax increase. Corzine ordered lawmakers in to work on the Fourth of July holiday, imploring them to end a budget standoff that has shut down many government services. Atlantic City casinos fought to keep from being dragged into the dispute.

A federal rule adopted Monday places tighter restrictions on how U.S. trading firms can invest their customers' money. The action comes amid a federal investigation into whether MF Global illegally tapped its clients' accounts before filing for bankruptcy. The Commodity Futures Trading Commission voted Monday to finalize the rule. It prohibits firms from using money from customer accounts for certain investments, including purchases of foreign debt. It also limits how much of their money can be invested in others, such as money-market mutual funds.

Jon Corzine resumed his duties as governor Monday, nearly a month after a high-speed crash on the Garden State Parkway almost killed him. The Democrat can walk again, but only slowly and with special crutches, and he plans to work from the governor's mansion at first rather than trying to return to the Statehouse.

In just 14 months as governor, Chris Christie has become a conservative hero in part because of the delight with which he's taken on some of his harshest critics, particularly the state teachers union. But with the barbs now coming from the Boss, New Jersey's governor may have finally met his match. In a letter to his hometown newspaper , legendary rocker and Garden State icon Bruce Springsteen laments its recent report about how the state was slashing programs that help its poorest citizens while sparing more affluent residents from the budget axe. "The article is one of the few that highlights the contradictions between a policy of large tax cuts, on the one hand, and cuts in services to those in the most dire conditions, on the other," Springsteen writes to the editors of the Asbury Park Press.

In the eyes of many New Jersey state workers, the governor is the Grinch who stole the day after Thanksgiving. New Jersey used to be among at least 24 states that let their workers take the day after Thanksgiving as a paid holiday -- not by law, but as a proclamation by the governor. But this year, Gov. Jon S. Corzine halted the decades-old tradition, saying that state employees who want that Friday off to create a four-day weekend would have to use a vacation or personal day.